# CARC 290 denial code on dental claims > What does denial code CARC 290 mean on a dental claim, and can it be appealed? URL: https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-290 Last verified: 2026-08-30 Dentovio is an independent publisher — not a payer, the ADA, X12, CAQH CORE, or any government agency. Code meanings and remark-code meanings on this page are Dentovio's own wording, written from the official X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Code and Remittance Advice Remark Code lists and linked back to them; X12 holds the copyright in those lists and its descriptions are not reproduced here. CDT codes are referenced by number only; CDT is the American Dental Association's copyrighted code set and this page does not reproduce ADA descriptors. Appealability verdicts are Dentovio editorial classification, not a standard. Every fact traces to the code steward's registry, a federal rule or manual, a HIPAA operating rule, an association publication, or a named payer's own document — never to a billing blog. This page was drafted with AI assistance and verified against the primary sources linked here. It has not been reviewed by a credentialed dental billing specialist, attorney, or clinician. Educational billing reference only — not billing, legal, or clinical advice. Plan contracts control individual outcomes, and processing policies usually live in the payer's provider manual rather than in the signed agreement. ## Direct answer On a dental remittance, CARC 290 means: The dental plan has no benefit for the claim and has already sent it on to the patient's medical plan. Nothing needs refiling; the medical plan's decision is what to watch for. X12 assigns it no group code, so the group code on the remittance is the payer's choice under its own contract and it, not the CARC, decides who is assigned the balance. No source read for this page pairs a specific remark code with it. Dentovio's appealability verdict — depends: check the facts first. The dental plan's part is finished, and its no-benefit decision is a plan-terms question if you want to test it. The live claim is now at the medical carrier: track it rather than refiling. Registry entry: X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Code 290 — in the code set since 2017-11-01; active, with no deactivation date. Read on the list published 2025-11-01. Group code: X12 places no group-code restriction on 290. A group code always travels with a CARC, and it — not the CARC — assigns financial responsibility, so read the one on your remittance rather than assuming. ## What it means in dental context The forwarded half of the 254-and-290 pair. X12 puts a note on each code pointing at the other, so this is a distinction the standard goes out of its way to draw rather than an ambiguity. Refiling the same services with the medical carrier after a 290 is a good way to collect a duplicate denial. ## Appealability: Depends — check the facts first The appealability verdicts on these pages are Dentovio's editorial classification. No standards body or payer publishes an appealability taxonomy: X12 defines what a code means, not what to do about it. Each verdict is built from the code's own mechanics and the payer and federal documents cited on the page, and it is a starting point for triage rather than a prediction of any outcome. A valid contract term may control, while a factual error may be contested. Run the checks on this page before using the appeal window. The dental plan's part is finished, and its no-benefit decision is a plan-terms question if you want to test it. The live claim is now at the medical carrier: track it rather than refiling. ## What to do 1. Confirm with the medical carrier that it received the forwarded claim 2. Track it as a medical claim from here; do not refile the same services 3. If the dental plan's no-benefit call itself looks wrong, that is a separate plan-terms question ## Remark codes No source read for this page pairs a remark code with CARC 290. X12 defines no CARC-to-RARC pairings at all: payer crosswalks are specific to that payer's own internal reason codes, and the CAQH CORE combination list binds only payers operating inside its business scenarios. Read the remark code on your own remittance. ## Read with this code - [CARC 254 — You file it with medical](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-254/index.html.md) - [CARC 270 — Medical says file dental](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-270/index.html.md) - [CARC 289 — Neither plan covers it](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/carc-289/index.html.md) ## Sources - X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (external code list 139) (list updated 2025-11-01): - X12 Remittance Advice Remark Codes (external code list 411) (list updated 2026-07-01): - 45 CFR 162.1602 — HIPAA adoption of the 835 remittance standard that carries these codes: ## Related - [Dental billing and claims hub](https://dentovio.com/dental-billing/index.html.md) - [All dental denial codes](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-denial-codes/index.html.md) - [Payer documentation requirements](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-documentation/index.html.md) - [Dental insurance prompt-pay laws by state](https://dentovio.com/dental-prompt-pay-laws/index.html.md) - [Dental claim appeal letters](https://dentovio.com/dental-claim-appeal-letters/index.html.md)